Wilmington City Council approves spending

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tonight, Wilmington City Council met and approved nearly $1 million in additional funding for the ongoing North 3rd Street Improvement Project. Council also approved a $5.6 million contract to widen Randall Parkway from Independence Boulevard to South College Road.

Designed to alleviate heavy congestion that regularly occurs between Kerr Avenue to South College Road and add capacity for future traffic growth, the project will also extend the Cross City Trail from Brailsford Drive to Marlboro Street.
Construction on the 18-month project is expected to begin later this fall. More than half of the project’s funding comes from federal and state monies.

City Council also approved $976,000 in additional funding for the ongoing North 3rd Street Improvement Project. The additional funding will provide for paving that will last a minimum of 10 years before major repairs are needed, as opposed to cheaper options that would last only 3-5 years.

The original $9.4 million project is a major overhaul for North 3rd Street from the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to Market Street, including replacing aging water and sewer lines, installing new sidewalks and putting power lines underground. The project began in 2011 and is expected to be largely completed by the end of this year.